Southwest beats visiting Waco as former Dallas Cowboy gets first coaching win

The last time the Waco Lions came home with a win was in September of 2020. They were hoping things would change this season. However, the Fort Worth Southwest Raiders weren’t going to let that happen as they won 20-6 on Friday night at Clark Stadium.

“Waco has a really good football team, so we’re not gonna take anything away from that, we respect them,” Southwest (1-0) head coach Phillip Tanner said. “However, our guys are going to play with relentless effort.”

It was the first coaching win for Tanner, a former NFL player who played for the Dallas Cowboys 2011-13.

The relentless effort started when Southwest’s Martavious Boswell ran his way to a touchdown, pushing the Raiders to 7-0 with 11:42 left in the first quarter.

Both teams began the second quarter with a slow and steady pace. No score came from either side as they played intensely. The score was still 7-0 at the half.

The third quarter started with the Raiders and Lions in a one possession game. With 8:15 left in the third quarter, Keino Tillman carried the ball for a touchdown, putting the Raiders up 14-0.

Southwest’s Raylon Carter ran the ball to the end zone but was denied because of a holding penalty. Martavious Boswell ran the ball down the sideline, leading to a touchdown with 8:26 left on the clock. This brought the score to 20-0.

Waco’s Tyler Black made the final touchdown of the night and the only score for the Lions, with 3:21 left in the fourth bringing the score to 20-6.

Fort Worth Southwest took the victory, sending Waco back home hoping for a win next week.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys, and the whole community of Southwest, you know, I appreciate it a lot.” Tanner said about his first win as Southwest’s head coach.

This story was originally published August 27, 2022 at 12:57 AM.